


Names don´t have to separete Us

by Dreamweaver127, King_Claus_The_First



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bottom Harry, But all of their friends know it, Cedric pinning after Harry and not accepting it, Even Harry knows it, F/F, F/M, Grey Cedric, Grey Harry, M/M, Top Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2018-12-19 18:58:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11904144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamweaver127/pseuds/Dreamweaver127, https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_Claus_The_First/pseuds/King_Claus_The_First
Summary: An AU from Cedric´s point of view, where he falls for Harry at first sight even if he doesn´t realize it and doesn´t even what to accept the fact that he might be gay. It´s up to his friends and Harry`s friends to make sure they end up together. Oh, and this Harry didn´t grow up with the Dursleys.





	1. Presagio

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, people! Welcome to this new Fic. This first thing I have to say is that this is a collaboration between Dreamweaver127 and I. The idea was his and I will post it, and we will take turns in writing. For now, I hope you like this Fic. Different form my other one, Mind Break, this will not be Poly-amori, at least not with the main pairing. I don´t hae anything else to say, so I´ll leave this here.
> 
> Enjoy.

Being an emotionally dry individual and a Master Occlumens (not to mention a natural arsehole, but that was neither here nor there) really helped Severus Snape to have a great deal of control of his emotions. It didn’t, contrary to popular belief, make him a completely unemotional arsehole. He was one, mind you, just not completely.

So, that being a given, it still didn’t prepare him to see the corpse of the man he had considered one of his most hated enemies at a time, and who just recently he had come to respect, even if just a little. Lily Potter nee Evans was always a force of nature, and when she was pregnant with her first child she decided that, for some reason, she was going to fix her relationship with Severus. There was a lot of pain, particularly felt by the young Potions Master when he was forced to revaluate the decision he had made in his life while his former best friend beat the crap out him with a mace. For friendship.

It opened his eyes (and his skull), but they had managed to rebuilt a solid friendship. It also forced Severus to come in contact with James Potter, but while he could say that his opinion of the man would always be coloured by their younger days, Severus could admit that he had come to respect the man his former enemy had become. It didn’t change his opinion of the rest of his group, although he could also say he at least respected Remus` intellect. 

Taking a moment to send a short prayer for his soul, he quickly ventured into the nursery, knowing but still hoping that he would find something different from what he expected. 

His luck, as always, was rotten to the very core.

He knew that if seeing James had been bad, looking at Lily`s body would be the worst thing ever. But he didn’t expect the pain to be so great that he was brought to his knees as his chest contracted worse than the times he was subjected to the Cruciatus Curse. Cradling the inert body, he let his tears fall freely, sobbing and softly uttering apologies that he knew wouldn’t be heard. The soft whisperings of a voice that was too young to be his own brought him back to reality and when he looked up, he was met with green eyes, which showed the same intensity that the mother had displayed on daily basis.

Suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cedric Diggory was a young but well known student of Hogwarts, and one of the most respected Hufflepuff in the school. Getting top marks, being a great Seeker and having the looks that at his age placed him somewhere between handsome and beautiful had given him more attention than what he had ever really wanted. Every teacher, from the strict but fair Professor McGonagall, the kind Matron of Hogwarts and even the Evil Professor Snape had nothing but good things to say about him.

It wasn’t a surprise then, that he was well received as soon as he was near the Hufflepuff table. The Welcoming Feast was the moment when friends who hadn’t managed to see each other during the summer could finally start to catch up. Of course, that was after the First Years had all been sorted. 

The new students were barely inside for a few seconds, but Cedric`s eyes landed in one particular boy almost immediately. The younger boy was of slightly above average in height, being beat by a couple of massive, brutish looking boys, a platinum haired one and another one he easily recognized as a Weasley. 

The boy, that had captured Cedric`s attention to a higher degree than even the flocks of girls that usually demanded it, had messy dark hair that was barely long enough to be held by a short, high ponytail, and his skin was healthy but pale. His eyes –oh, _his eyes_ \- were such a brilliant green that they almost glowed. They somehow reminded Cedric of the Killing Curse but in a completely different way -and yes, he had seen it, but the Hufflepuff would rather leave that in the past.

_*ba-bump*_

The boy’s expression was relaxed and he was even smiling a little. He said a few things, and Cedric noticed a bushy-haired girl nodding along with him, while two other boys, one with sandy blond hair and the other with short brown hair and blue eyes listened attentively. Unexplainably he felt something coil inside his stomach when the green-eyed boy laughed at something the blue-eyed one said, but Cedric didn’t say anything before the first of the new students was called to be sorted.

The next minutes had Cedric alternating his attention between those who were Sorted, applauding when the rest of his House mates did and watching the boy. He was jostled out of his thoughts when he heard the name “Harrison Potter” being called, and then adopted a surprised look when the green-eyed boy moved in front.

“Can you believe it, Cedric?” commented Benjamin Selwyn, one of Cedric`s closets friends. His brown hair was shoulder length and his eyes were hazel colour and expressive. Of the group, he was the most excitable. “Harry Potter! It would be awesome if he was sorted in Hufflepuff.”

“There are more possibilities of the Hat heavily considering placing him in Slytherin,” commented Sam Wells. He had green eyes, short brown hair and tanned skin. He usually spoke calmly, almost in monotone, but he was very musically inclined and it was only then that he openly showed any kind of emotion. “But I`m sure he will go to Gryffindor.”

“You want to bet?” challenged Benjamin. Sam`s eyes lazily landed on him.

“Guys, stop,” exclaimed Cedric. “Ben, you know that Sam almost always wins, so don’t bet against him. And Sam, don’t encourage him.”

“He sure is taking his time,” murmured Sam, seeming to ignore his friend. 

He was right. The Hat normally just needed less than thirty seconds to know where to place someone, but Potter had already been sitting on the stool for at least two minutes. The boy didn’t seem too concerned, though.

“GRIFFYNDOR!”

“Told you so,” Cedric barely noticed Sam say while his eyes trailed after Potter, feeling, even if he didn’t know _why_ , a sense of disappointment. Sure, it would have been nice to have someone famous share the same House as him, but it still didn’t explain why the fact that Harry wasn’t placed in Hufflepuff made him feel so bad.

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t notice the two pairs of eyes watching him curiously or the knowing looks they exchanged.


	2. Troll in the Dungeons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night the Troll attacks Hogwarts, Cedric talks to Harry for the first time. And this time, Death was a little closer to home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, people! Dear Dreamwaver127 and I, Claus, have the new chapter right here for you! I would have posted it on Saturday, but I was pretty tired that night and I spent the better part of Sunday playing Megaman X4 (I LOVE that game), so I hope you can forgive me, I`m the one in charge of the posting. 
> 
> This is only the first half, though.
> 
> For now, enjoy.

The Halloween celebration is Hogwarts was, as typical, accompanied by a giant feast, laugher and cheers. At least for those who didn’t care a lot for traditions.

It still surprised Cedric that Sam didn’t celebrate Halloween. He knew it wasn’t that he had something against the celebration itself, nor was he a traditionalist, considering that he was a Muggleborn, but Cedric and Benjamin had stopped asking him after Sam glared at them into submission (whoever said Puffs couldn’t be scary, they have yet to meet the boy; Cedric thought he might even be a match for Professors Snape and McGonagall).

That didn’t stop the two friends from enjoying themselves. It was while indulging himself in the delicious food the House-Elves prepared that Cedric caught sight of something that stopped him cold.

At Griffyndor table he saw Harry Potter, the apparent new Albus Dumbledore if the rumours his exploits in class were anything to go by. What made him stand out, more than the fact that he was himself, his flawless skin or his beautiful, vibrant green eyes (wait, what?), was the air around him. Instead of the happy expression, the excitement shared by the rest of the lions or being engorging himself with food, Potter looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but there. He appeared to be making some small talk with Longbottom and a red-haired that was clearly a Weasley (Cedric didn`t like the description the Family received from some of the other purebloods, but if the shoe fit…). The bushy haired girl that was usually with him wasn’t even at the table, and the blue eyed boy he saw with Potter the first night was a Slytherin, even if they didn’t seem to care about Houses, as they were almost always seen together when they weren´t in class.

“What you looking at?” asked Ben between bites.

“It`s just…,” Cedric didn’t want to come off as a creeper watching a younger boy or a fanboy stalking their favourite idol, so he needed to phrase things carefully. “I just think it`s weird that Potter doesn’t seem to like Halloween.”

Casting a glance toward the boy, Ben nodded. “Yeah, I mean, you would think that he would be happy. After all, it was the night he beat You-Know-Who.”

They looked at each other for a moment and then shrugged. They were curious but they wouldn’t bother with it. 

They wouldn’t have the time for it, anyway.

“TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!” Professor Quirrel came running into the Great Hall, scaring half of the people inside. “I thought you ought to know,” and then he fainted.

In a couple of minutes the whole Hufflepuff (and the rest of the Houses) was moving together towards their Common Room. Cedric thought that it wasn’t the most logical idea, though. The Troll was in the dungeons, which meant that both Slytherin and Hufflepuff were the most vulnerable targets. Not only that, but there was no guarantee that the prefects would be able to handle an adult Troll by themselves. 

“Oh, fuck,” Cedric heard Ben mutter. 

“What?”

“Sam is not in the Common Room; we have to get to him.”

“He usually stays there, though…?”

“He found some old, unused music room. Told me he was going to be there until curfew.”

The other Hufflepuff considered their options. On one hand they couldn’t leave their friend alone with a Troll going around the school, but the most logical thing was to tell the prefects or a Professor… Of which were none nearby.

“Is it too far?” Cedric asked.

“Not if we run.”

Bravery wasn’t the trait most associated with Hufflepuff, but a single individual rarely showed one single trait. “Let`s go, then.”

Cedric let Benjamin lead, as he knew in which direction they could find their friend. They moved past several corridors, but they didn’t find him. 

He found them.

“What do you think you are doing? Run!” while he was raising his voice and his breath was laborious, Sam _still_ trying to be as calm as possible. Especially considering that just rounding the corner was a savage, angry Mountain Troll with a giant mace with the clear intent of killing them.

The two boys didn’t waste any time, but their panic stricken minds made them forget the path they had come from. They did recognize, though, that Sam was carrying something on his back and the hair was the entire clue they needed.

“Why do you have Granger with you!?” exclaimed Ben.

“Run now, talk later,” Sam huffed, rearranging his grip on the girl. “We need to get her to the Hospital Wing, or at least to some place where I can stabilize her.”

The three continued running.

There were rumours about Hogwarts. Rumours that said the castle was alive, and many referred to Hogwarts as a Her. One of those rumours was that he castle sometimes guided you to where you needed to be. If someone asked Albus Dumbledore, he would say that that particular rumour was right, but the thing was, sometimes the places you have to go to and the places you need to be at are totally different. 

They wouldn’t know about that rumour for a long time, and they wouldn’t reach that conclusion for many years, but there were reasons for Hogwarts lo lead them to a dead end.

The three boys were about to run back, but the Troll was already blocking their only route to escape. They backed away and then ducked down when the beast swung its mace towards them, barely missing. Just as the Troll was about to attack once again, two different voices shouted.

_**“Sectumsempra!”** _

_**“Wingardium Leviosa!”** _

The group watched in horror as the arm the Troll was about to swing was suddenly and almost cleanly severed while the mace stayed in place. The beast roared in both fury and pain, sloppily turning his back, spraying foul smelling blood on the four students, and advancing toward the ones that had caused it pain. 

Seeing that the Troll was distracted, Cedric looked for a chance to escape but when he saw how it was having trouble walking straight, he decided to help take it down. 

_**“Incarcerous!”** ___

__The already clumsy Troll was unable to give another step before collapsing in a heap, although he wasn’t completely unconscious._ _

__“Now, Ron!” the mace moved violently for a moment before it slammed down into the Troll, finally knocking it out. For around a minute everything was quiet._ _

__“Are you all alright?” the three boys looked up at the ones who saved them, surprised that instead of one or two of the Professors, the ones standing at the other side of the Troll were none other than Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley._ _

__It was clear that the three boys had run, considering that they looked sweaty and dishevelled, but at least they were intact. Cedric noted, though, that Harry`s hair was lose, revealing that it wasn’t as long as he had first thought, the top being only long enough to reach just a little past his ears. It still covered his eyes a little over the glasses, and Cedric felt his breath catch when the vibrant green eyes landed on him. “I… I mean, yeah… We are fine, I guess,” it was more mechanical than anything the way the words came out, and the fact that Potter raised an eyebrow in disbelief only made Cedric feel more nervous, and he couldn’t even fathom why he would be nervous to be speaking to an eleven years old boy._ _

__“Hermione!” cried Neville and ran to where she was, following a pale Ron._ _

__The girl was on the floor and Sam was kneeling besides her, wand out and he appeared to be casting some kind of spell on her torso. Harry moved then, sidestepping everything else to kneel down next to Ron at her other side. Ben and Cedric looked at each other before moving closer. No one spoke for a couple of seconds, but the silence didn’t last long._ _

__“What in the name of the Great Scott happened here!?”_ _

__“Professor McGonagall, over here!” called Ben._ _

__In an instant she, along with Professors Snape and Flitwick walked around the Troll and saw the children and reached them, quickly taking in the situation. Meanwhile, Flitwick moved to secure the Troll._ _

__“Why aren`t you in your rooms?”_ _

__“Minerva, I believe we have more pressing matters to handle first,” said Severus as he moved to observe the status of the girl. He easily recognized the healing spell the boy was performing, and decided to cast one of his own, but only to understand what was happening._ _

__Taking a deep breath, the Transfiguration Mistress looked at the rest, expecting an answer._ _

__“We noticed Sam was missing and there wasn’t enough time to get one of the prefects and none of the Professors were in sight, so I told Cedric that we should go look for him. We ran into him and he already had Granger with him… We… Don´t know what happened to her.”_ _

__“Considering her injuries, I wager that she was hit by something heavy, likely the mace,” said Severus._ _

__“Sha saved my life,” responded Sam standing up. “But could we leave the explanations for later? She is out of danger for now, but she still needs more medical attention than I can give.”_ _

__“You just performed Healing Magic on another student?” asked Minerva alarmed, knowing that Healing was a very delicate thing to do, especially if it was done by an untrained student._ _

__“I`m good enough to have saved her life,” murmured the boy. Ben moved then, slightly supporting his friend`s body when he seemed to have problems standing on his own._ _

__“Professor, can we take them to the Hospital Wing first?” asked Harry, worried about his friend although relieved that her life wasn’t in danger. He also noted that the boy who saved her was a little pale._ _

__“Very well.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, we know "What else happened!?" Well, you will have to wait for the next half *evil grin*. We do have the other half ready, but we want to get the next chapter done first. Tell us what you thought, please? I`ll give you a lap dance if you do. *wink wink*


	3. Primeras palabras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The outcome after the Troll`s attack, explaining that more than one member of the group was closer to Death then they first thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, dear readers! I`m sorry about the delay, I have no excuse. This part has been ready for days, but I just wouldn´t get around posting it for some reason. By the way, I`m not sure if you have noticed, but the names of each chapter are going to alternate between English and Spanish. Just to be clear, the title says "First Words"
> 
> For now, enjoy!

A couple of hours later all of the children, the Professors who found them along with Professor Sprout, Madam Pomfrey and the Headmaster were in the infirmary, ready for a retelling of the events. Everyone was sitting in a kind of semi-circle around the beds were Hermione, now awake, and Sam, who looked a bit better, were resting.

“Professor McGonagall has already told me a little of what occurred, but I believe some details might be necessary,” started Dumbledore. 

Cedric spoke first. 

“Sam wasn’t in the Great Hall during the Feast and when Professor Quirrel said that there was a Troll in the castle, when we were going back to our Rooms, Ben and I remembered that Sam wasn`t there and because we couldn’t reach someone else, we thought that we could get to him in time.”

“I thought the classroom he was at was closer, but I was wrong,” added Ben.

“And why weren`t you at the Feast, Mr Wells?” questioned Professor Flitwick.

“I don´t really have a reason to celebrate Halloween,” the boy said, not meeting anyone`s eyes. Only Cedric seemed to take note of both Harry and Professor Snape, who hasn’t been too far from the younger boy since the Professors found them, nodding in understanding sympathy. 

“We found him with Granger on his back and the Troll was behind them,” cut in Ben before anyone could question their friend about it, something Cedric knew Sam appreciated. Not even they knew why he didn’t like that particular date, but they respected his privacy. Besides, he also had a particularly frightening glare, and Cedric didn’t believe the Professors would appreciate it. “We tried to escape, but we lost the way back. The Troll cornered us and was about to… to… Crunch us…,” Cedric guessed that the shock of having almost died was finally starting to affect him, so Cedric put a hand on the other boy`s shoulder both to make him stop and to calm him down. His friend then took his hand in a death grip.

“A spell cut the Troll´s arm and his mace was held by Magic, I guess,” Cedric took over. “And then… Weasley…? Yeah, Weasley used the mace to smash the Troll unconscious. I`m not sure what happened then…”

“I found Granger before we encountered the Troll,” said Sam without prompting. “She told me that someone was rude to her and she just needed to get away for a while to… What was it… Em… Desahogarse…,” the fact that he was having trouble with the words meant that he was still a little out of it. English wasn’t actually his first language. 

“Vent?” supplied Dumbledore.

“I guess that works, yes. She saw the Troll… Em… Running towards us and she managed to push me out of the way. The Troll hit her on the side, and she would have died immediately if she hadn’t been fast to move… I managed to bring down a chandelier, to stun it, and used a _Paralysis Meddygol_ spell to…”

“You used a _what_!?” exclaimed Madam Pomfrey.

“What is it, Poppy?” asked Minerva. She wasn’t completely sure what that spell was.

The Medi-Witch took a deep breath to calm down. “ _Paralysis Meddygol _is form medical emergency charm that basically petrifies a patient to such a degree that, even if they had sustained a mortal injury that could threaten to kill them, they would be frozen and basically unable to be damaged any further, so that they can be transported to receive the adequate medical attention,” looking at Sam seriously. “No wonder you almost fainted, though you should have fainted anyway!”__

__“What do you mean?” decided to ask Hermione, always curious._ _

__“The spell is tied to the core of the user in order to be maintained, and it uses a lot of Magic to cast and hold, and considering the healing he performed later –irresponsibly, I would normally say, but it saved Ms Granger`s life- Mr Wells should have been unconscious long before he came here,” for now, she decided to omit that he could have very well died. Still, Cedric and Ben looked worriedly at his friend, finally understanding the danger he had put himself in._ _

__“I suppose, that given the circumstances, both Mr Wells and Ms Granger shouldn`t be reprehended. Technically speaking, the Halloween Feast is not mandatory to attend, and they weren’t aware of the presence of the Troll,” said the Headmaster. “Their actions later saved each other`s lives, even if Mr Wells` actions were _slightly_ risky.”_ _

__The rest of the Professors deliberated for a moment, but they could agree with that reasoning. At least they, Cedric thought, were out of trouble._ _

__“Wells,” called Hermione, catching the boy`s attention. “Thank you, you saved my life and put yours at risk.”_ _

__“You saved my own first, so we are good,” Sam said smiling a little. “Besides, they were the ones to save us all,” he pointed at Harry, Cedric and Ron._ _

__“What you did was still amazing, mate,” said Cedric._ _

__Harry smiled gratefully. “Healing Magic is not an easy branch and you saved her life, so thank you.”_ _

__“Yeah, we own you one,” said Ron while Neville just nodded in agreement._ _

__Hermione smiled and was about to say something when the Professors decided to cut in._ _

__“While you two are out of trouble, I believe that Messrs Diggory, Selwyn, Potter, Longbottom and Weasley cannot say the same,” said Minerva. “While your actions can be justified with wanting to save a friend, you still should have told a Professor or at least a Prefect. Whether or not your actions ended up saving the lives of your friends, you still disobeyed a direct order from the Headmaster and the results could have been much more tragic than what they ended up being.”_ _

__“Professor,” said Ron. “It`s my fault what happened. I was frustrated earlier and was very cruel to Hermione, and when we heard of the Troll I thought that she could be in danger. I just wanted to make sure she was alright… Harry and Neville followed me because they wanted to make sure I wouldn`t be hurt,” they boy looked genuinely sorry and ashamed._ _

__Dumbledore and McGonagall looked at each other and the Headmaster nodded, deciding to take over. “Regardless of that, Mr Weasley, and I`m proud that you admit to your mistakes, they decided to go with you out of their own volition. Not only that, but Mr Potter used a very dangerous Dark curse that could have hurt someone, including himself, if wrongly performed.”_ _

__“Actually, Professor,” Harry started. “While the spell I used could be classified as a curse, it could also be hex. The _Sectumsempra_ spell has yet to be classified officially so, until then, it can be used freely. Besides, the founding rules of the school don´t say anything against the use of what even the Ministry considers Dark Magic as long as it is not Necromancy, any form of Black Magic -an entirely different classification-, or any kind of Magic with the specific intention of harming another student or a faculty member. And knowing and having been taught by the creator of the spell, which we have just established is legal and was used with the intent to protect, and I can say with complete certainty that my use of the spell was perfectly safe… As long as you don´t count the Troll, of course.”_ _

__All the current faculty members were looking at each other in astonishment, because what he said sounded like something his father or one of his friends could have said. It was also pretty sneaky to try to use a technicality to try to get out of trouble._ _

__Dumbledore glanced discretely at Severus, but the Potions Master was as taciturn as ever._ _

__“He is actually right in that regard, Headmaster,” was what he finally said. “But you still disobeyed a direct order and put yourself at risk when you should have known better.”_ _

__Grinning cheekily, Harry said. “Well, to that I have no answer.”_ _

__“I believe, given what transpired today,” Dumbledore said after a pause. “That we should discuss what happened after a good night of rest and later decide the punishment, should there be any, and for now the children would be better off going to bed.”_ _

__With everyone concurring to the idea, the students were told to get back to their rooms, with the clear exception of Hermione and Sam. Once they were all out, Cedric stopped the Gryffindors before they left._ _

__“Em… Potter,” Cedric, once again, felt a little nervous when directly addressing the younger boy, especially when he felt his eyes on him. “It`s just… Indifferently of the Magic you used, well… You saved our lives, so thank you… We would have died if you hadn’t stopped the Troll when you did.”_ _

__Harry smiled gently at him and Cedric felt his heart beat a little faster. “You helped take it down, your binding charm was impressive,” somehow, knowing that he impressed Harry Potter made the Hufflepuff feel giddy and warm. “And Ron gave the decisive blow so…”_ _

__Cedric took a couple of seconds to answer, prompting to blush at the thought of looking like an idiot while Harry expected an answer. “Yeah… I mean, yeah! It was… Um… Team effort!”_ _

__Harry blinked slowly, sharing quick glances with Ron and Neville, and even sending a questioning one to Ben, who just shrugged helplessly but he was trying and succeeding in hiding his smile._ _

__“Well, I guess we better get going. Let´s not be strangers, ok? Theo sometimes comes to eat with us at the Gryffindor table so you will be welcome to come if you want to,” sending the pair of friends a last smile, that had Cedric unknowingly turning into a pile of goo and Ben blinking because Harry suddenly looked unbelievably cute, the three young Gryffindors started the trek back to their tower._ _

__“I get why you have it bad now, Ced,” Ben said._ _

__Turning to his friend, Cedric asked. “What do you mean?”_ _

__“Oh, nothing. Understand when you grow up you will, young padawan.”_ _

__“Oh, come on! And stop using Muggle references that I don´t understand!”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was it? Dream and I are always eager to know what you think, so your comments are always welcome. For now, I got to leave. Got to get back to my job, so sorry. And, OMG, the earth just tembled! For real!
> 
> Anyway, bye!


	4. Quidditch and Curses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cleaver observation changes things when Hermione and Ron discover that Snape might have been cursing Harry`s broom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holle, everyone! How are you all doing? Dream and I hope you are all fine. We are sorry for the delay, it was mostly my fault for not getting around posting the Chapter. It was supposed to be longer, but there was one scene that I just couldn´t get to fit here. I don´t have a lot to say today, so I´ll just leave you to it.

The first game of Quidditch of the year is one of the most awaited events of Hogwarts. It was, without doubt, an exciting day and for Cedric, Ben and Sam it wasn’t all that different. They were even more excited than the rest, with the notable exception of Slytherin and Gryffindor, who were the competitors of the day. 

The reason for their excitement was that they, along with only a few people from the House of the Lions, knew that Harry Potter was the new Seeker of the Gryffindor Team. The First Years knew the details of what had happened, but almost none knew of the outcome. 

Even now as they made their way towards the Quidditch Field the chatters about whom the new players would be wouldn´t stop. The three new Hufflepuff were already on their seats, courtesy of Ben being the only one of them with the habit of arriving early (Cedric was mostly always on time and if left to his own devices, Sam would usually arrive from five to ten minutes late).

Because they were not going to be cheering for their houses and that day it was mandatory, none of the boys were wearing their school robes. Cedric was only using a button-down shirt and slacks, with only a black and yellow scarf around his neck. He had a robe in case it got too cold, but he usually preferred the colder climate anyway.

“Oh! The players are coming in,” exclaimed Ben.

“Harry looks like he is sick,” said Cedric, unconsciously fixated on the boy.

Sam and Ben caught each other`s eyes, each one sitting on Cedric´s sides, and they shook their heads in fond exasperation. The green eyed boy then said. “Hermione told me he didn´t want to eat this morning. Ron managed to help distract him and Neville put some light foods on his plate, though, so he should be alright.”

Cedric was going to say something, but the voice of the Quidditch Commentator, Lee Jordan, sounded around the whole field. “WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON!”

The whole crowd cheered in response.

“AND WHAT A GREAT DAY TO START IT IS! I HOPE YOU ARE ALL AS PREPARED FOR A GAME OF HORRIFIC PROPORTIONS! AND I SAY HORRIFIC BECAUSE WE KNOW SLYTHERIN`S HORRIBLE…!”

“MR JORDAN!”

“SORRY, PROFESSOR! NOW, AS I WAS SAYING WE HAVE TO AMAZING TEAMS TO BEGING WITH,” Lee started to list the name of the players, his disdain for Slytherin making itself obvious, until he reached Harry. “AND FINALLY, GRYFFINDOR´S SEEKER… AND THIS IS QUITE A SURPRISE! THE NEW SEEKER FOR GRYFFINDOR IS NO OTHER THAN HARRY POTTER!”

“Really, I don´t get how he still is on that job,” commented Sam.

“Yeah, I get what you mean,” agreed Cedric. “I like Jordan, and he is pretty funny and a good bloke, but his blatant favouritism in this is…”

“Unsavoury,” finished Ben. Sure, they were pretty friendly with the dark-skinned Gryffindor, but they were Hufflepuffs and couldn´t help but think that having a commentator in a school event trash-talking one of the Houses was unfair.

It wasn´t long before the game started.

The four Houses cheered. Ben cheered mostly for Slytherin, mainly because he had a cousin there (well, many cousins because basically all the pureblood Houses and families were somehow related), while Cedric was more partial for Gryffindor. Sam didn´t care anyway.

The young Diggory had an easy time following the game, but as it was instinct, he also searched for the Snitch. It wasn´t long, though, before his eyes landed on Harry. The boy had cut his hair, so he no longer needed to tie it. It made his face look clearer and Cedric could appreciate the visage, especially with the bright smile and the eyes full of life that adorned his face.

Not to mention how he flew. He was amazing! It was clear that he had some instruction beyond what was taught during First year, but the sheer grace he displayed and the ease with which he rolled and dodged the Bludgers was a showing of his natural talent on a broom. The fact that he handled that Nimbus 2000 like a simple toy was amazing itself.

There was a moment in which apparently both Seekers managed to see the Snitch, as they both shot quickly to the same direction. Cedric succeed in seeing it as well a moment later. He managed to keep sight of it, though, until it came near the Hufflepuff stand. The golden ball was very suddenly so near them that Cedric could easily reach with an arm and catch it. 

Both Seekers were rushing towards it in seconds, but the Snitch had already left. Still, for a spilt moment time seemed to freeze just as Harry flew over him. Their eyes met for an instant, and Cedric gulped. He couldn`t help thinking that the younger boy looked incredibly attractive; his shorter hair was pushed back by the wind, his face was red from the exerting and pearls of sweat were in the air, shining like diamonds and adorning the boy.

The moment passed and time returned its course and Cedric, along a few other people stood up to follow the two players. Ben and Sam tried to look at each other to have one of their silent conversation about their friend and noticed that, because they were on eye level with Cedric´s middle area, that the Hufflepuff´s face wasn`t the only thing that showed a level of interest.

Eyes widening, Ben pulled Cedric by the back of his shirt to make him sit and Sam tossed Cedric`s robe over his lap.

“What the Hell, guys!?”

Looking around to make sure no one heard them, Ben said. “You`ve got a boner, mate.”

It took a few seconds for it to sink in, but Cedric`s face was beet red in an instant.

“We are thirteen, Cedric. You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Sam reassured before a mischievous glint entered his eyes. “You got excited for the game, right? Or you remember the feel of the broom between your legs? I bet half of the male players out there are hard as well,” despite being the quite one of the group, Sam was the one who teased more heavily out of the three whenever he did it. “Unless the… Reaction was caused by something… Or _someone_ else…?”

“Sam! Leave it already!” complained Cedric and Ben laughed. Sam smirked, but let it rest.

The game continued on, the three boys forgetting about the incident while observing. The Snitch had managed to elude the Seeker, so both of them had to go back to square one.

“Higgs` playing dirty again,” muttered Cedric.

Ben nodded and answered. “All of Slytherin does, but it`s not like Gryffindor are _that_ much better. They are just more discrete.”

“Which is ironic,” added Sam.

“Indeed,” agreed Ben. “But Higgs is not as bad the guy before him. I mean, at least he is pretty decent out of the field. The other guy was an absolute git,” he was going to continue on, but a strange movement caught his eye. "Guys, something is wrong with Harry`s broom!”

Certainty, the younger boy`s broom was making agitated movements that made it hard for him to stay on it, and it was clear that if it kept on he was going to fall from it.

“Someone is cursing his broom!” Cedric concluded immediately. “And with the level of protections woven into one like that, they have to be powerful or very knowledgeable.”

“Do any of you know counter-curses?” asked Sam while Ben used his Omnioculars to search for the one casting the curse.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Cedric said. “None that could be useful, and with the curse affecting it, using Finite Incantatum could have repercussions within the broom.”

Ben, having taken Cedric`s words into consideration, was looking through any of the adults to find the caster, until his eyes landed on someone who was keeping his gaze fully on Harry and was murmuring. “Wait… _Quirrel!?_ ”

Turning to see their friends in surprise, Sam and Cedric looked at him incredulously. “Are you sure!?” they questioned simultaneously.

“I mean, he could be casting the counter-curse,” he murmured and then let his eyes roam again, this time landing on Snape. “Snape is doing the same!”

“I`m going to do something about it,” Cedric stood up. Someone, be it Snape or Quirrel, was trying to hurt Harry and he was not going to stand for it.

“Hermione beat you to it,” Ben said when he caught sight of the Gryffindor under the seats. Suddenly, fire sparked and started to consume the Potions Master`s robes, making him and all those around him turn around, jump and yelp. Including Quirrel.

Harry managed to get control of his broom back and the game was eventually won by the House of the Lions. Fortunately, no other attempts were made but Ben made sure to keep an eye on Professor Snape while Sam did on Quirrel. Cedric was vigilant on Harry, making sure that he remained alright. 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

“And I`m telling you that I know it wasn`t Professor Snape,” the three Hufflepuffs heard Harry say calmly. He, along Ron, Hermione and Neville were sitting at one of the Library`s tables, clearly discussing the incident from the day before.

“Harry, he was looking fixatedly at you while murmuring something. I recognize a curse when I see one.”

Getting nearer, Ben spoke up. “A counter-curse can be performed the same way, Hermione,” the three boys took the sits in front of the Gryffindors, quietly sharing their greetings before he continued. Absentmindedly, he noticed Cedric casting a privacy charm. “And if that was the case, Quirrel was doing the same.”

“I don´t remember Quirrel doing that,” she argued.

“You probably looked at Snape first and disregarded looking for anyone else,” offered Sam. Having saved her life, the girl respected him enough to let him continue his argument. His heavy stare also would have silenced anyone of them if they thought of interrupting. “Not that I blame you, all things considered. The facts are, though, that both Professors Snape and Quirrel were acting suspicious of casting either a curse or a counter-curse and when you set Professor Snape`s robes on fire –and yes, Ben and I saw it, good work with that spell, by the way- you distracted them both, which released the broom from it.”

The rest of the children looked him with a little surprise. Cedric couldn´t help letting out a teasing remark, though.

“You know, you have said more in the last couple of weeks then in the first six months of us knowing you,” Sam slapped him on the head. Hard. “Ouch, mate!”

“But he is right,” Harry said. “And I have been telling you that I know it wasn´t Snape, so if Ben is right, it had to be Quirrel.”

“But Quirrel is pathetic!” answered Ron. “He is even afraid of his own shadow.”

“It could be an act,” said Cedric. “Not every Dark Wizard is going to advertise themselves.”

“Quirrel wasn´t even a Slytherin.”

“The Dark Witch, Ramona Bluebell, was sentenced to be Kissed just this July after being found guilty of the torture, rape and murder of each of fifty individuals, including men, women and children and performing Forbidden Black Magic. She was a Muggleborn and a Gryffindor,” explained Sam.

“House affiliation, blood purity and even being Dark, Light or Grey have nothing to do with being evil,” added Cedric.

“Exactly!” agreed Harry enthusiastically. “Professor Snape can be very… Mean, but he is not evil.”

It was silent for a moment, none of them willing to back down, but Neville then asked something that caught Harry off guard. “Do… You happen to know Professor Snape from before Hogwarts, Harry?” everyone turned to look sharply at him, but the boy wasn`t looking at any of them, so he continued. “It would… explain why you are so sure it wasn`t him.”

Feeling everyone`s eyes on him, Harry cursed inwardly. He shouldn´t have said anything. It could mean more trouble than it was worth right now, not to mention it could put a couple of people in danger.

“I… Had a lot of contact with him when I was growing up,” he allowed, trying not to get into specifics. “He was also a friend of my mom, but I didn`t learn that until a couple of years ago.”

“And you are absolutely sure that he wouldn’t try to kill you?” asked Cedric and green eyes bore into him intensively. 

“Yes, I`m sure.”

Nodding, trying to get his heart to stop hammering inside his chest and blood from rushing to his cheeks, although he didn`t understand why, Cedric said. “I don`t know about you, but that`s enough for me,” this made Harry send him a grateful smile and unknowingly, Cedric held his head a little higher. 

Hermione herself looked a little more convinced, but Ron, typical Gryffindor, was still unsure. This prompted Ben to offer another option. “Instead of simply deciding one is guilty, Ron, why don´t you keep an eye on them both? You can be safer that way.”

“Well… Maybe…,” Ron accepted.

“Well, this has been fun, but I have to go,” Harry said suddenly, standing up. “Theo is in the Hospital Wing, and I promised I would visit.”

The boy waved at his friends and quickly left.

“Theo?” asked Cedric.

“Theodore Nott,” answered Hermione. “He and Harry know each other since they were small. Harry is a little protective of him.”

Cedric tensed a little and one of his hands clenched. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him in the long run, his best friends have been keeping a closer eye to his reactions when it came to anything that had to do with the Boy-Who-Lived.

Sam made a convincing excuse and Ben forced Cedric to get up so they could leave, all the while apologizing to their younger friends. Ben saw, though, that the only girl of the group had suspicious swimming in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did you like it? Did you not? Dream and I love to hear from our readers. Talking about other things, I also hope and pray for any of our readers that may have been affected by the earthquake. I would like to be there to help out somehow, but geographical barries can be difficult to cross. A shout out to any of you from Florida, I also hope that things are becoming alright after Irma, and I wish you all the best and much love.
> 
> Bye everyone, we hope to read from you.


	5. El Espejo de Oesed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cedric joins Harry and Ron when they go to see the Mirror of Erised and makes an important discovery about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Dream and I have brought you a new chapter, finally! It took some time, but we are both satisfied by how it is. One thing, the title of this chapter is the name of the Mirror of Erised in Spanish, just in case anyone of you were wondering.

Waking up in the middle of the night for a snack in the kitchens was something that Cedric was used to do. His metabolism was really fast, so his body sometimes needed more food than what he gave it throughout the day. Sam and Ben had repeatedly told him to eat more at dinner so he wouldn´t have to get up so late at night, but he just didn´t listen.

Regardless, one or both of them sometimes went with him and just drank hot chocolate and they talked, but this night he had to go alone. Ben had gone home for Yule, after all, and Sam would do one of two possible things that Cedric didn´t want to even think about if his sleep was disturbed.

Having finished the small meal the House Elves had graciously prepared him, Cedric decided to head back to bed, when he suddenly felt like someone was poking him on the shoulder. Startled, he jumped slightly but managed to keep from making a sound.

Light laugher came from nowhere, at least that`s what Cedric thought before Harry`s hair came out as if from behind a curtain. 

“I didn`t peg you to be jumpy when you were scared,” commented the younger boy in a teasing voice.

Calming down and ignoring the comment, Cedric whispered. “What are you doing out of bed, Harry?”

“I wanted to show Ron something that I found some time ago. I saw you, and I thought to ask if you would like to come.”

Cedric seemed to consider it for a moment. “I don´t know, Harry, it is pretty late.”

“Come on, Ceddy, it isn´t like we have classes tomorrow, being winter break and all.”

“Ceddy?” enquired the boy, thanking the darkness for hiding his blush.

“A nickname, I think it fits you,” Harry grinned and took Cedric by the arm, not willing to give him a choice. “Come on,” against his will, Cedric was pulled inside the cloak and he almost collided with a startled Ron.

“Hey,” greeted the redhead.

Unable to form words, as Harry didn´t give them the time, the three of them started walking. Cedric, though, was having a bit of a problem.

Because the cloak had only so much space, the three boys had to huddle close together. The older boy was in the middle, and while Ron seemed to be trying to keep his distance, Harry had no qualms about pressing closer to Cedric. This had the effect of allowing the Hufflepuff to feel the young Gryffindor`s body against him.

Cedric tried, he really did, but every time their hands brushed, Cedric couldn´t but wish that the contact had been longer or that he could simply grab a hold of the other´s hand. Or, when his hand or even his hip touched Harry on the hip or his butt, especially when the contact lasted a few seconds, his mind procured thoughts of simply grabbing and taking a good hold, to judge if the cheeks were as firm as he suspected.

And if that wasn´t enough, he felt some blood rushing south and having opted not to use underpants under his pyjama pants, he had to make a great effort to keep Harry from bumping into his half hard member and to make sure it wasn´t noticed. 

_“What, no, bad Cedric, you must not think of doing that to a younger boy,”_ he scolded himself, forgetting that he wasn´t even three years older than Harry, but well, that`s the mind of a thirteen years old boy.

“Ok, we are almost there,” said Harry, unknowingly interrupting Cedric´s thoughts.

The three boys enter a room that seems to be abandoned, but Ron and Cedric have no time to examine the room before Harry is telling them to look to a seemingly ordinary if old mirror. The Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor look at each other and shrug, not getting Harry`s hype about it.

“Look closer,” he insists. 

For a few seconds, nothing happens, but suddenly Ron exclaims in surprise.

“I see… I see me! And I have the House Cup… And I`m shaking Dumbledore`s hand!”

Cedric was startled by the other boy`s reaction, but noting that the mirror seemed to be, in fact, magical, he gave a another look.

And he sees… Himself, just as he is. He had his pyjamas on and his hair was a little messy but everything looked normal. Looking further, he saw Harry, who was standing a few feet behind him but curiously enough, he couldn´t see Ron.

Suddenly, Mirror-Harry moved closer until he was standing next to Mirror-Cedric. The Hufflepuff`s reflection then, much to Cedric`s shock, wound an arm around the younger´s waist, pulling him closer. Cedric´s skin felt flushed and he gulped, before pressing a hand to his eyes to try to clear them, thinking that they were playing a trick on him.

The image certainly changed but this time the Mirror showed an older Cedric, about seventeen, and an older Harry, who looked fourteen years old; the boys were also shirtless. Both reflections smirked and then winked at Cedric before, to Cedric`s apparent horror, they both turned to face the other and slowly, almost mockingly so, they closed the gap between them to start kissing. And it wasn´t a chaste kiss, no; Cedric could see how they opened their mouths and the moment tongues start to frantically duel and their hands begin to move with great desperation to touch every inch of skin possible. 

Cedric`s own mouth was dry and he felt his blood running between his face and his crotch. He even started to sweat when Mirror-Harry´s hand sneaked inside his reflection´s pants with the clear intention of feeling Mirror-Cedric`s backside. The older boy separated their lips and started to kiss and bite his partner`s neck, and Mirror-Harry leaned his head back to give him access. Then, his lust filled green eyes opened and stared at the real Cedric, scaring him and making him feel even hotter, especially when the reflected Gryffindor used the hand that was groping the Hufflepuff`s arse and the one on his head to pull him closer while grinding his groin against the other`s.

His lips moved, and Cedric could almost hear when Mirror-Harry started to call his name. He sure could read the lips movement.

_“Cedric.”_

Mirror-Cedric apparently liked that, because he started to use his hands to massage Mirror-Harry`s own arse, pulling more un-hearable moans from him.

_“Cedric!”_

Finally having enough, Mirror-Cedric started to pull down Mirror-Harry`s pants, giving the real Cedric a good view of the nicely shaped cheeks…

And then someone slapped his head.

“Are you back with us?” he heard Ron ask. Cedric wasn´t going to be the one to tell him that his annoyed expression resembled his mother`s. Having been neighbours all of their lives, Cedric knew a bit of Molly Weasley. And anyway, he couldn´t possibly have, as at that moment Cedric was trying to recover from the horrifying but hot vision he had just had.

“I… Sorry…,” he stammered, moving his body so that he could hide the evidence of his arousal.

“Well, you aren´t the only one, you know?” Ron, fortunately for Cedric, didn´t even notice the discomfort and instead pointed at Harry, who looked extremely distracted by whatever he was seeing in the mirror. “Harry, mate, snap out of it!”

Harry blinked in surprise before turning his eyes on them. He looked at Ron and then at Cedric, unknown to them due to the darkness around, his face turned slightly red. “Sorry.”

“What is this?” asked Cedric after a couple of seconds of silence.

“Look at the encryption above.”

The three of them looked at it for a moment, Ron and Cedric becoming lost almost immediately.

**_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._ **

“What does that mean?” asked Ron.

“Well, in ancient Sumerian it could be roughly translated to ´You shall dance with a naked watermelon´...,” the other boys looked at him like he was crazy. “But in truth it says ´I show not your face but your heart´s desire, but it´s backwards.”

Gulping and trying to ignore the implications, Cedric said. “So… This basically tells us what we want the most, whether we know it or not.”

“Precisely, Mr Diggory. Take two points for Hufflepuff,” the three boys turned to see Headmaster Dumbledore sitting on a crate nearby, his blue eyes twinkling at them warmly. “Mr Weasley, who has always felt overshadowed by his brothers´ accomplishments, desires to be better than all of them. And I believe Mr Potter, who has never known his family wishes to have them all with him, together. Such is the power of the Mirror of Erised.” 

“… And my own…,” started to ask Cedric, but he realized he didn´t want to say what the Mirror had shown him.

“As I don´t know what it is, I can´t tell you, Mr Diggory.”

“That´s alright, Professor.”

Dumbledore smiled at them before saying. “I believe it is time you all got back to bed. I won´t be taking points or giving detentions this time, but you should be aware of the consequences next time… And Mr Potter, I implore you not to search for this Mirror again. It will be moved to a new location soon and besides, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

“Yes, sir; thank you, sir.”

“And Mr Diggory?”

The young Hufflepuff froze instantly, turning back to look at the older Wizard with a slightly scared expression. Harry and Ron also stopped, but Dumbledore told them to leave. “Yes, Professor?”

“Whatever it is you saw in the Mirror… Don´t let it affect you. The choices you make in your life, as long as they don´t hurt anyone, are yours alone and you shouldn´t be ashamed. And if you are afraid of rejection, remember that those who really love you and care about you will not judge you for petty reasons.”

Cedric`s eyes were wide as he looked the Headmaster, the surprise and horror almost palpable, before he nodded and hung his head, completely at loss for words.

Dumbledore smiled once more at the boy as he left. Then, once he was alone, the Headmaster took out his wand and casted a couple of charms on the Mirror which allowed him to see what other people had seen.

“Ah, to be young again… I ship it,” he murmured when he saw Cedric´s vision but choosing to stop quickly, lest he saw something he really shouldn´t. He then saw Ron´s dreams, seeing exactly what the redhead had described and finally he saw Harry´s desires. “My poor boy…,” he lamented before the image started to change. “Well… This is unexpected,” had anyone else seen the twinkling on his eyes or the completely savage and out of place smile on his face, they would have shivered. 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

It was the night before classes resumed at Hogwarts and Cedric, Ben and Sam were getting ready for sleep. Sam was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed under the covers while reading a book and Ben, who had dyed his hair blond during the break, had just exited the en-suite they all shared. He was only wearing underwear, as the three of them were very comfortable with each other and Cedric, despite himself, couldn´t keep himself from looking, even if only for a moment. 

“Guys, can we talk about something important?” Cedric asked them. 

“Sure thing, mate. What is it?” Ben sat down on his own bed and looked at Cedric with curious and slightly concerned eyes. It was rare for him to want to talk about serious things all of the sudden.

Sam just hummed, but didn´t stop reading. Still, they knew he was paying attention.

Cedric had used the last few days thinking about what the Mirror had showed him. That line spiralled into him analysing himself in a deeper level, specifically his relationships and what he thought of his friends and of the people around him, forcing him to reach a frightening conclusion.

He didn´t like girls.

That`s to say, Cedric didn´t find them attractive, physically at least. Oh, he thought they were pretty and nice but in an objective kind of way, almost as if they were pieces of art. He had thought about his female friends, Cho Chang for example, who was just below Ben and Sam in terms of closeness; he had thought about kissing them and holding hands and all of the romantic stuff, but he found that he couldn´t help the uncomfortable shudder that ran down his spine. Well, holding hands was fine, but kissing them made his stomach feel unpleasantly tight.

Then he thought about his male friends, particularly Sam and Ben as they were his closest companions, but whereas he had absentmindedly considered them good looking in the past, once he took the time to actually think of it, he discovered that he thought they were _cute._ _Very cute_ at that. Enough that, while he wouldn´t really want to date either of them, being close enough that he considered them almost brothers, Cedric still wondered what it would be like to kiss them.

That made him think of every other boy he had ever considered attractive and his traitorous mind immediately jumped to Harry bloody Potter, forcing his face to try to imitate a tomato and, remembering the hot imagine that the Mirror had showed him, his cock stirred slightly in his pants.

“Cedric, are you going to say anything or not?” pressed Sam after his friend had stayed quiet for a couple of minutes. Cedric gulped, but decided to get it over with.

“Sam, Ben, what I`m about to tell you is… Not something that I want other people knowing, so whether you want to be my friends after you know or not, or if you want to be reassigned to another room, I will understand, but please don´t tell anyone.”

“Cedric, you are scaring us, man… Whatever it is, even if you killed someone, we will still stand with you, ok?” said Ben.

Sam nodded. “I would even help you make sure the body wouldn´t ever be found…,” he paused his reading for a moment and then gazed at his friends. “But I feel that Cedric is trying to tell us that he is gay,” and he went back to his book, completely ignoring Cedric`s eyes full of horrified surprise settling on him.

Ben`s eyes opened like plates when he heard that. “Wait, is he real, Cedric?” biting his lips, Cedric nodded, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “And you think we would hate you for that?” Cedric nodded again. Inwardly, Sam was impressed by Ben`s acting skills; he knew they both had suspected it for some time, even if they hadn´t discussed it with each other.

It was silent for a few seconds, making Cedric feel worse. He felt more than heard Ben standing up and he knew that his friend would just get out of the room to find Professor Sprout and ask her to reassign him to a knew room. Tears welled in his eyes at the thought of his friends slowly distancing themselves from him. He loved them fiercely and even imagining them leaving him hurt.

For that reason he was surprised when he felt a hand gently land on his shoulder.

Cedric looked up at hazel eyes that regarded him with sympathy before he felt arms wrapping around him and pulling him into a hug.

“Cedric, why the fuck would you think we would hate you just because you prefer blokes instead of girls?” Ben pulled back and smiled sheepishly. “Besides, I would have to be a big hypocrite because… Well, I`m gay too.”

Cedric looked at his friend for a long while, seeing that he was being completely sincere. Feeling reassured, he pulled Ben into a new embrace feeling happy tears run down his face as both boys started to laugh giddily. 

“Hey, Sam, as the only straight guy in the room, do you feel uncomfortable with us liking blokes?”

Sam, still irritatingly reading his book, answered. “Well, since you like to assume, I would tell you that I don´t care who you decided to have sex with,” he raised his book in order to hide the smirk that formed his lips. “I would be pissed, though, if you decided to start sucking cocks in front of me… Without inviting me first.”

Both boys looked at him.

“You are also gay!?” they asked in unison.

“Bi, though I don´t like labels. I have kissed girls and enjoyed it, but I like boys as well.”

It was silent for a few seconds, before Ben broke it.

“So… The three of us like boys and we have a room all for ourselves…,” he smiled slyly, and Cedric immediately knew what he was thinking. “Threesomes every night!” and he was promptly silenced when Sam threw a book to his head.

Cedric laughed, though, especially when his friend sat up and sent the book back only for Sam to wave his wand to stop it mid-air.

“That`s not fair!” complained the blond. “And come on, Sam, don´t tell me that you haven´t thought about it before or that it didn´t cross your mind just now!”

Sam glared at him, but there was little heat in it. Instead, he averted his eyes in what they recognized as embarrassment. “… Shut up.”

“Called it!”

With his friends bickering with each other, Cedric couldn´t hold his laugher back, relief and happiness. His friends more than accepted him, truly and completely, and that made him feel like a great weight had been dropped off his shoulders.

“Do you plan on telling Harry about your crush soon or will you wait until he is older?”

“Wait, what!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was it? I struggled to write the end, and Dream thought that maybe we could have had Dumbledore say more, but meh... As always, please comment, give kudos and bookmarks. And if you haven´t already, I invite you to heck out my HP Fic, "Mind Break."
> 
> I will soon have a Christmas break and will be going to Miami to visit my some family, but at the same time, I believe we will be able to have more chapters ready sooner. But we make no promises yet, ok?
> 
> Read you all!


	6. And Life Goes On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so Cedric learns that you have to keep on strong, even when life throws curve balls in the form of Wraiths that also happen to be a Dark Lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, dear readers, Claus here! I'm sorry about the long delay. Along with losing the data where I had the chapter twice and working on my other projects and life, of course, there was little time in which I could set to work. And even though it was ready last week, I was still a bit busy, too.
> 
> Still, Dream and I were satisfied with this chapter, although I still think it feels a little bit rushed, so I hope you will enjoy it as well.

Ever since realizing his sexuality and discovering that his friends shared his interest in boys, Cedric discovered that his life reminded mostly… Unchanged. Sure, he now acknowledged whenever one of his peers caught his fancy, and there were times when his eyes crossed his friends´ eyes and they nodded in approval. Truly, only one thing had changed.

Discovering his raging crush on one Harry Potter.

Which his friends somehow also knew about before he told them (In Sam´s words, his mooning over the younger boy made it incredibly obvious). His Muggleborn friend had suggested him to try dating, but just the thought felt wrong somehow. It wasn´t that he didn´t find anyone else attractive, he just didn´t feel comfortable thinking about dating someone else. Cedric didn´t even want to date Harry right now (beyond the fact that they technically couldn´t), he just fancied him a lot.

Ben had expressed a similar view. Maybe he wanted to kiss Oliver Wood or Terrence Higgs, but he didn´t want to _date_ them.

Thankfully, Cedric had managed to keep himself in check around his Gryffindor friends. Sure, he felt his face reddening whenever he perceived any level of closeness with Harry, but usually Sam or Ben managed to save him if he somehow put his foot in his mouth.

Fortunately, this wasn´t such a time.

Cedric, Ben and Sam were walking to their usual spot in the library to get their homework done, when they saw Harry and his friends, including young Theodore Nott. Hermione was speaking while pointing to a book, which in itself wasn´t strange, but the sombre expression of everyone´s faces alerted the Hufflepuff trio. Walking up to them, noticing that they were under a privacy bubble since they were unable to listen to what the girl was saying.

Harry did notice their presence, and with a short wave of his wand, he let Cedric, Ben and Sam into their bubble.

“What´s going on, mates?” asked Ben.

“I think we discovered what is being guarded by Fluffy,” started Hermione. The older students had been brought up to speed with what they had discovered so far. “Hagrid told that whatever it was, it was between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flammel. Now-.”

“Oh, you probably mean the Philosopher´s Stone, then,” interrupted Sam while Ben nodded with him.

“It makes sense… Dumbledore studied Alchemy under him, right?”

“Wait, you know about it?”

“Well… Yeah,” answered Cedric. “Ben usually knows a lot about important figures of our times and we have all read about the Stone one time or another.”

“I’m also related to Nicholas Flammel through my mom, actually,” Ben added, shrugging at their shocked looks. “It never came up before, so I didn’t think it was important to mention it.”

Everyone observed the blond for a few seconds more, but in the end Harry caught their attention.

“At least we know what it is that the thief wants, but we still don’t really know who he culprit is…,” sighing, Harry looked at each of his friends. “I guess that in the end, we can only keep an eye on the suspects and hope for the best.”

It was mildly frustrating, but there rally was nothing they could do.

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“Explain to me again why we are about go into the Forest instead of just letting me choke Dumbledore with his own beard until he regains his sanity,” muttered Sam as Cedric and Ben led the way to where Filch was waiting for them.

The night before, the Hufflepuff trio had gone to the Kitchens for Cedric’s usual snack and they had somehow gotten roped into helping their Gryffindor friends smuggle a bloody dragon and had gotten caught by Professor McGonagall.

“Because a couple of hours in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid are better than a lifetime in Azkaban, especially if you end up killing the Headmaster,” countered Ben, who was keeping a hand on each of his hand on his moody Muggleborn friend and a surprisingly murderous Cedric.

“Only if we leave evidence,” said Cedric. “What kind of mad person would send an eleven years old to the Forbidden Forest, whether they have company or not!? I say we should sic Sam on Dumbledore and hope for the best,” or the worse, depending on the point of view.

Ben sent the Diggory an incredulous look while their Hispanic friend smiled approvingly. “See? Even our voice of reason agrees with me.”

The blond pureblood’s eye twitched. “Well, as the only individual who currently has common sense, I’m telling you we are not doing that,” he then turned to look at Cedric. “Besides, Cedric, imagine that Harry gets in trouble and you save him. I bet he would be really grateful, don’t you think?”

Cedric stopped for a moment as he imagined it; Harry, looking up at him with bright green eyes as he thanked the older boy for saving his life… Immediately, he grabbed his friends’ arms and started to run toward the meeting place.

Ben sent Sam a smug smile.

“Well played, bitch…”

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“So, what exactly are we looking for again, Hagrid?” asked Cedric just as the group, consisting of the Gamekeeper, Cedric, Sam, Ben, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Draco Malfoy, along with Hadrid’s dog, Fang started to enter the Forest. 

“A unicorn,” the half-giant responded seriously. “Something has been hunting them and I was told that there’s one injured somewhere nearby.”

“And the reason we are looking for the unicorn, never mind the fact that we could also find the thing that has been hunting them, instead of someone trained for this, or even couple of our Professors is…?” asked Sam from somewhere behind them.

“Not enough time…,” Hagrid murmured sheepishly. 

Cedric shook his head in disbelief and let the Gamekeeper walk a few feet in front of them. He chose to remain silent, but was pleasantly surprised when Harry fell on step besides him. 

“Are you also nervous?” asked the young Gryffindor.

The older boy was starting to shake his head, wanting to keep a strong front, but a raised eyebrow from Harry told him that it was useless to lie. “A little. It’s the first time I’m doing something like this.”

“If it helps, I’m also a little nervous,” Harry said shrugging.

“You are eleven, Harry; I’m thirteen and I’m beyond just ‘a little’ nervous,” he sighed dejectedly. “I guess you must think I’m a bit of a coward since I’m scared, don’t you?”

“You make it sound as if your friends aren’t even a bit scared.”

“Ben isn’t; he has wanted to explore this place since First year. He was almost placed in Gryffindor, you know?” Cedric chuckled drily. ”He spent a whole month complaining when he got sorted into Hufflepuff, and it was even worse because the Hat didn’t consider placing him in Slytherin, or at least that’s what he told us. He was a bit like Malfoy is right now,” he glanced at the Slytherin blond, who was sullenly walking behind the group.

“Really?” Harry asked incredulous. “What changed?”

“Us. I mean, Ben made friends with Sam and me when Professor Flitwick assigned us to help him with Charms, although we have shared the same room since we came to Hogwarts. He didn’t have much of a problem with me because we are both Purebloods, but he didn’t think Sam had anything of value to help because he is a Muggleborn, so I did most of the tutoring until Sam had enough and defied him to a duel.”

“And who won?”

“Well, I had been tutoring in Charms Ben for a month by then –I happen to be a pretty good instructor, by the way- and most Pureblood children usually have some training in Duelling, so needless to say, Ben is a formidable opponent,” Cedric explained as a smile formed on his face.

“So Ben won?”

The older boy grinned this time. “Not even close.”

Harry looked suitably surprised. “No way…”

“I think it was more to do with confidence and aptitude? They were near equals in skills, but Sam is just too vicious. He wasn’t always as serious, but he has always been a bit violent if provoked.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” responded Cedric slightly puzzled.

“How do you match up to them in terms of duelling?” Harry asked, giving him a curious look that, unknown to him, Cedric found completely adorable.

“I… Well… We are all pretty much equals by now, I think… My mom is a Duelling Champion, so I was always inspired to be strong like her and she usually teaches me some things –behind my Dad’s back, because he wants me to have a job in the Ministry. Although in First year Sam would have destroyed me too, to tell you the truth.”

“Is that what you want to be? A Duellist like your Mom?”

“I don’t know… I know I want to get Masteries in Charms and Transfiguration, maybe even Ancient Runes too. I’m not sure what I want after that, though.”

“Well, you still have lots of time to decide, don’t you? I know you are doing great in classes, so you will be amazing in whatever you decide to do,” Harry said, smiling fully at Cedric. Said Hufflepuff felt his face turning red and his heart skipped a beat, and it was taking a lot of effort not to run behind a tree so he could get himself under control.

Thankfully, Hagrid decided that it was a good moment to stop.

“We’ll ‘ave to separate here,” the man said. The children looked at each other and then at Hagrid as if he had lost his mind.

“Separate?” questioned Hermione. “It’s too dangerous!”

“We need to ‘urry and we can cover more ground that way,” Hagrid insisted. “Ron, Hermione and Malfoy, you come with me,” he then motioned to the Hufflepuff students. “You three go with ‘Arry the other way, and take Fang with you.”

The half-giant, the two Gryffindors and the lone Slytherin walked off, with the platinum-blond haired boy murmuring something about ‘his father hearing of this’ and sending the older boys and Harry a sneer.

They stayed in silence for a few seconds…

“If something jumps at us, I’ll cast _Bombarda_ first and ask questions later,” Sam said.

“Agreed,” chorused the other boys.

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The four boys walked in silence for almost 20 minutes, huddled together and keeping their attention on everything around them. The night was cold, but Cedric had applied Warming Charms on everyone already, so there was one less thing to worry about.

Ben, who was at the front of the group with a _Lumos_ Charm lighting the way, stopped suddenly when Sam put a hand in front of him. 

“Did anyone hear that?”

Cedric shook his head. “No. What was it?”

“Was… That a horse…?” asked Harry doubtfully.

“A horse…,” replied Ben lowly. “The unicorn!”

They rushed to where they heard the sound coming from, and Ben and Cedric were able to clearly hear the sounds of an animal in pain now. The path broke up at a clearing, where the light of the moon, despite being a little cloudy and the presence of the trees around, and they all saw their first glimpse of a unicorn.

It was beautiful; vibrant white fur with a metallic blue mane and a spiralled horn that seemed to be made of alabaster instead of bone. It would be more beautiful if it wasn’t for the black robbed _thing_ that was looming over it.

Harry let out a pained hiss, which caught the attention of whatever that monster was. They managed to catch sight of a mouth, covered in blue blood, sneering at them just as Harry’s hissing turned into a scream and he went down on his knees. Fortunately, Cedric managed to catch him.

The wraith moved toward them and the older boys pulled out their wands, Ben and Sam stepping in front in a defensive position. 

_“Bombarda!”_ as promised, Sam opened with the Exploding Charm but the wraith was able to move just in time to evade it.

 _“Stupify!”_ casted Ben when it seemed to try to rush toward them but again, it was too fast for them.

“Try to slow it down!” yelled Cedric as he pulled a distraught Harry to his feet, still keeping him close with an arm around him.

The brunet and the blond looked at each other for a moment before they started firing spells again.

_“Aqua Eructo!”_

_“Glacius!”_

A jet of water came out of Sam’s wand just as a stream of frost shot out of Ben’s, intending to freeze their opponent, but it seemed to have other ideas. With a leapt, it was out of sight between the trees.

The three Hufflepuff’s breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived as the wraith suddenly jumped down in front of them. It hit Ben violently, making him crash painfully against a medium sized rock nearby. There was a brief but loud crack.

“Ben!” his friends shouted in alarm. Sam turned to it, curse in his lips and murder in his eyes, but the creature attacked him, slamming him down face first to the ground.

It then loomed over Cedric and Harry, the first of them raising his wand and starting to cast a Shielding Charm and the later starting to groan in pain again as his scar felt as if it was on fire. The wraith started to bash against the shield, once, twice, before unexpectedly something slammed against it, sending it flying.

The wraith stood up but as it looked at the new enemy, it seemed to reconsider and, finally, started to retreat.

Cedric didn’t relax, though, as he realized that the new arrival was a Centaur. While he was aware that Wizards and Centaurs weren’t precisely enemies, it was a known fact that most of them didn’t like humans.

“You are safe now, Little Wizard and Harry Potter.”

Cedric took a chance to look at the one that had saved them. The Centaur, to his surprise, was surprisingly handsome, with regal features, whitish blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes, and well developed torso in his human half that would have more than one bodybuilder jealous. Seeing the lack of hostility in his face, the young Diggory let the Shielding Charm dissipate and checked on the boy in his arms.

“Are you alright, Harry?” he asked after a moment. Green eyes looked at him groggily, but it was clear the younger boy was regaining himself as he tried to stand straighter.

“Yes, Cedric, thank you,” he separated himself a little from his friend, much to the older one’s disappointment, and looked up to the Centaur. “Thank you for saving us, Firenze.”

Since Harry seemed to know him, Cedric took a moment to check on his friends, reaching Sam first since he was closer and already getting up.

“Are you alright?” he asked, helping him sit up on his knees and retrieving his wand. Sam’s face was covered in some blood and dirt, and the angle of his nose indicated that it was clearly broken.

“I’ll be fine,” said the green-eyed teen, bringing the wand to his face. _“Tergeo, Episky,”_ in an instant his face was clean, followed by the little cuts on it disappearing without leaving scars.

“Your nose…,” Cedric pointed out and his friend grimaced as if he was acknowledging the pain just now.

“I’m used to it,” he responded, ignoring Cedric’s expression, keeping his wand pointed to his face. _“Ferula Noses,”_ the teen sighed in apparent relief, even if nothing seemed to happen other than a little light going into his nose. 

Cedric helped his friend stand up and they walked toward Ben, who seemed to have lost consciousness. They kneeled beside him and Sam raised his wand, pointing it at him and casting a Diagnosis spell.

“He has a concussion… And a broken arm, but I can’t do anything… About the first one right now,” he pointed at the broken appendage. _“Brachium Ferula,”_ the arm was enveloped by the same light that had covered Sam’s nose earlier. 

“Should we wake him up?” asked Cedric.

“… I don’t know? We must go to Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible… I think… Maybe I have a concussion as well? I’m not sure…”

“Firenze said that he can take us back,” said Harry suddenly as he walked near them. He was looking at them with a worried frown but he quickly shook his head. “The Stone… I think it’s in more danger than ever right now.”

“What was that thing?” asked Cedric, looking at the Centaur.

“Voldemort,” responded Harry instead, clearly unbothered by pronouncing his name and rolling his eyes he saw Cedric shiver and even Sam stiffen at it.

“Harry! You said _His_ name, what-?”

“Fear of the name will only make you fear him more; it gives him power, and you should not be giving it to him.”

Most of the night after that happened in a blur for Cedric; he remembered helping put Ben on Firenze’s back and helping Sam walk when he seemed a bit distracted; Harry’s murmured conversation with the Centaur that he had opted to stay out of. Finding Hagrid, Malfoy and the rest of their friends and arriving to Hogwarts, being fused over by Madam Pomfrey and finally going to bed.

Through it all, Cedric felt frustrated.

His friends had been incredible. While quickly overwhelmed, they had fought magnificently for their ages while all Cedric had manage to do was yell, keep a hold of Harry and barely contain that thing – _Voldemort_ , his mind supplied- for a few seconds before Firenze had rescued them. He felt useless and he just couldn’t keep the thought out of his mind that maybe, if he had been more prepared, if he had been stronger, his friends wouldn’t have ended up hurt as much or even at all.

 _“Well,”_ he thought resolutely. _“Next time, I’ll be more ready.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, there you have it.
> 
> While Cedric was already a great student and a good wizard, it is from this point on that he will strive to become stronger, eventually making him the best choice for the Three Wizards Tournament. (No, there's no problem telling you that, but we won't give you anymore spoilers.) Now, he has decided to become stronger... Is that the best course of action? What do you dear readers say?
> 
> BTW, is anyone else playing Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery? Because I kinda love it.

**Author's Note:**

> How was it? I´ll keep his short, but Dream and I are hoping you will comment, give kudos and like the story. We`ll be back soon! Bye.


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